What does seclude mean?
Word: Seclude
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Seclude means to cut yourself or someone else off from company for a time.
Synonyms: shut away
How do you spell seclude?
Syllables: se - clude
Tricky part: The ending sounds like oo, so pupils reach for a double o or move the vowels about. It is a single u, a d and a silent e.
Watch out for: secloode, seclued
Memory tip: The oo sound is spelt as it is in June or flute: u, one consonant, then a silent e.
Seclude in a sentence
Example 1: When the house gets noisy, my brother secludes himself on the terrace with a book.
Example 2: The team secluded themselves in a quiet hotel before the final.
Example 3: Some painters seclude themselves for weeks when a big commission is due.
Fun Fact
The Latin verb inside this word means to shut, so the word pictures a door closing on the noisy world.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Every summer my aunt leaves the city for a small hut in the hills, where she can secclude herself from her ringing telephone and finish the children's novel she began five years ago.
a) telephone
b) novel
c) secclude
d) summer
Show answer
c) secclude. One c is the rule here, as in the related adjective used of quiet places.
Mingle-Mangle
Which word do the jumbled letters in the sentence spell?
During exam week Tara tends to lueedsc herself in her room with her books.
a) secure
b) seclude
c) secrete
d) settle
Show answer
b) seclude. A d is among the letters, and neither an r nor a pair of t's.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word seclude as used in the sentence:
Before a tournament, the chess champion likes to seclude herself from reporters and fans.
a) welcome
b) isolate
c) inform
d) tire
Show answer
b) isolate. She wants to be away from these people, not to greet or to brief them.
Spell-o-Spell
One word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. seclude 2. sollitude 3. hermit 4. remote
a) a person who lives alone, far from others
b) to put yourself out of reach of company
c) far away from towns and people
d) the state of being alone, often by choice
Show answer
d) the state of being alone, often by choice. Solitude has one l, like solo.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which would a composer most probably do in order to seclude herself?
a) rent a quiet room by the sea
b) join a crowded evening class
c) hold a large party at home
d) share a desk in a busy office
Show answer
a) rent a quiet room by the sea
2. Why would a student seclude himself the night before a big test?
a) to show off a bright new school bag
b) to avoid anything that might distract him
c) to meet more friends from other classes
d) to help in organising the school fair
Show answer
b) to avoid anything that might distract him
